Monday, May 4, 2009

From Dead Strangers to Living Friends

I'm tapped out for original blog content right now, so here's another excerpt from my book:

We are saved from many things: sin, Satan, punishment, death. But primarily we are saved from the wrath of God. And we aren’t just passed over for wrath; we are brought in, held close, covered up. We have received reconciliation. This is such a powerful way to talk about salvation, because it moves us beyond self-centered talk of being saved into a personal faith, as if Christianity is about self-improvement, and takes us right into being unified again with God, which posits salvation such as it is -- Jesus the Savior taking dead strangers to God and transforming them into living friends.

2 comments:

That's a very powerful statement. I have been wrestling with why some preaching is insuffecient (i.e. not preaching the Word as Paul would have Timothy do it) and I think it is because of this neglect of focusing on our salvation from God's wrath. This statement really challenges me to examine my motives for cherishing and proclaiming the gospel.